Enemy Known

by Butler, J. M.

  "You're about as skilled a prophet as that Machat," Naatos said. A cold smile spread over his face. "I have intended to kill you since the beginning. It was simply figuring out a way to do it that didn't cause problems with her. Now I don't have to worry about that."

  "A Machat woman told me you love Amelia," Shon said. Even those words tasted horrid in his mouth.

  "There's an old Vawtrian saying: even a crippled tagrip greets the dawn once a year."

  Shon frowned. "That makes no sense. My point is that if you love her, if you even care about her or need her alive, you don't want her to die. And if you kill me, she will die."

  "You're overstating your importance."

  Naatos was less than ten feet away from him. With the length of the spear and Naatos's arm combined, it wasn't enough to give Shon a chance to evade him. He moved farther away, angling into one of the large chambers to his left. "No. It's the future. I went into the Levthro to see if I could see a future where Amelia and I were together. The Machat woman said instead to show me what happened if I died here. Now. In this place. And I saw Amelia die, Naatos. Always the same way. Nothing stopped it in all of the variations I saw."

  Naatos paused, stiffening. "The Levthro showed you this. Tell me." He rested the end of the spear on the ground.

  Good. Time.

  Shon steadied himself, looking for any signs of weakness in Naatos as he spoke. "It was a dark chamber underground made of stone. Sometimes a circular stair-stepped chamber, sometimes a large hall connected to the chamber. There were children chained up sometimes. The number varied. But Amelia chased a man down there and fought him. Sometimes he killed her, sometimes he didn't. But if he didn't kill her, she died after she killed him. She bled out from her elmis.”

  Naatos's scowl deepened. "And what does that have to do with you?"

  "If I was there, she would not be in that place."

  "What did the man look like?" Naatos moved toward him again. "Who was he? Was he always the same man?"

  Shon aimed at Naatos's knee. "You stay there."

  Naatos's eyes narrowed. "What did the man look like?"

  "Tall. Shoulder-length pale-blond hair. Arrogant. He made fire and lava with his hands. A lot like you. Except for the hair color and lava, of course." Shon's fingers worked along his bow. He tried to work out a plan. He needed to make Naatos move farther away from that bag if he was going to get the jar. He needed to shift weapons as well.

  Naatos nodded. "And you saw this in every variation. What changed?"

  "You really want to know? Call back your troops and stop your brothers. I'll tell you everything."

  "No," Naatos said, drawing out the word. "You'll either tell me now, or I will cut the words out of you one by one. And as for me not killing you because of what the Levthro has shown you, that is foolishness. Was I present at any of her deaths?"

  "Not that I saw," Shon said tightly. "Your younger brother was though. I'm guessing he cared more than you."

  Naatos laughed darkly. "Then the Levthro did not show you everything. There is nothing more precious to me than my wife, and now that I know that she supposedly meets her end in some dim subterranean chamber of rock, possibly circular, possibly not, I won't let her enter one alone."

  "I'm sure Amelia will only do what you want."

  "Well, you mentioned there were children. Whose children were they?" Naatos asked.

  Shon glared at him. "The Levthro didn't say."

  "You see, I know Amelia is probably the sort who would try to rescue any children who were in danger. But the way you say it tells me it irks you. Which means you think those children are mine and Amelia's."

  Shon stiffened. "There was no way to know."

  "It is the most logical. We know the children are not WroOth's. Nor are they AaQar's. And if Amelia and I have children, then…apparently things are going well."

  "Not so well if she's dead. If you want to avoid that future, you know what you have to do."

  "Yes. Keep her out of that place and keep our children under constant guard when we have them. She probably wouldn't be in that place if they hadn't run there, and they probably take after their mother and are prone to trouble. None of this has anything to do with you."

  "The Machat and the Levthro were quite clear on this point."

  "They often are, but it rarely means what you think it means. You should try getting a clear answer from them. Regardless, what happens to Amelia is not your concern. You should be grateful you're dying today."

  "Grateful?" Shon repeated. He continued to move to the right. But Naatos was not moving in sync with him anymore.

  "Because she's my wife, and you will never see her again. No man will fight harder for his mate than a Vawtrian, and you will never see, hear, or touch her again." The flash of anger in Naatos's eyes as he spoke confirmed that he saw Shon as more of a threat than he stated. "I've heard that can be devastating. Men kill themselves over such loss. More importantly, she has suffered because of her love for you." Naatos tapped his hand against the spear.

  "You're the one who makes her suffer."

  "Only because of her infatuation with you, which thankfully has ended." Naatos paused, as if waiting for a reaction. "You don't believe me? Let me explain clearly. You see, the sveti, the creature that I created to kill you, feeds off love. It doesn't actually have to be true love. Just first love. The sveti dies either because it has completed its task or because she has stopped loving. Clearly you're alive. That means there's only one other answer."

  Those words stung, itching and biting deep within him. Shon had feared this might be true. He refused to believe it though. She'd have to tell him herself. "If that is true, then have her tell me herself," he said. "Otherwise I don't believe it."

  "It doesn't matter whether you do. The evidence was right in front of you. Personally, I'm quite happy with this solution." Naatos shrugged. "I would have killed you either way, but at least this way there are no consequences with my beloved."

  Shon continued to move farther into the large open chamber, continuing to go to the right. It was some sort of meeting or dining room given the large flat-top table with gilt edges and the numerous chairs lining it on all sides. A massive fireplace, empty of ash, filled the far wall. Tapestries of wild birds, boars, and all kinds of homey acts covered the walls. "If it's true that Amelia doesn't care, then you wouldn't kill me. There'd be no purpose."

  "No. You annoy me. So I will kill you. But…" Naatos held up his hand. "Now that you've told me all this about the Levthro, I have yet another reason to kill you. You see, Shon, if I don't, you will go mad."

  "Now you're really stretching." Shon shook his head. He hardly believed what Naatos said in any of this. His palms sweat, and the adrenaline pounded in his ears. The muscles along his arm twitched.

  "You went into the Levthro to see what would happen in a situation where the woman you had some feeling for died more than ninety percent of the time. The Machat would not let my brother into the Levthro for that reason. You see, watching someone you love die over and over again in innumerable variations plants a particular seed of insanity. You will become more and more obsessed with her as time goes on. You think she's all you can think about now?" Naatos adjusted his grip on his spear. His words ate at Shon, speaking to what Shon had already noticed in himself. "Wait until you have gone weeks and the only thing that you can see in your pathetic little mind is her dying over and over and over again. It will destroy everything else." Naatos hooked Irasso's bag with his spear and lifted it. "It's best you be put out of your misery. For everyone's sake."

  Shon stiffened as Naatos took hold of the bag. "You aren't as good a liar as you think."

  "If I was lying that might be a problem." Naatos removed the black jar and cast the bag aside. The packets of powder slid out. "For instance, I could lie and claim I don't know what this is. But you wouldn't believe that. We both know exactly what this is."

  "Resin for razor bows."

  Naatos laughe
d. "Now look who is the bad liar." He hurled the jar into the wall. Lightning sparked up, filling the air with its horrid scent.

  Shon's heart fell. The bag crashed to the ground, the silver pouch with the powder falling onto the ground. Naatos crushed the fallen packets with his boot, scattering the powder onto the floor. "You're an annoying animal that needs to be put down. You have perhaps six or eight months before serious damage sets in. Even if you and Amelia were, miraculously, able to find some way to be together, your only happiness would be with her. And even then it would be limited because your mind will torture you with a death you will not be able to prevent."

  "Seems to me that you should be tortured as well," Shon said. He readjusted his aim. "From what I've heard, you'll suffer from being apart from her too."

  "Again, I see no problem." Naatos scuffed his boot through the dagger. "I have every reason to keep her by my side. And unlike you, I can protect her from any threat against her."

  "I suppose that'll make her killing you all the easier." Shon forced himself to shrug. His mind frantically raced through every possible option. He now stood in the dead center of the open room near the long table, and Naatos had yet to move.

  "If she still wanted to kill me, perhaps. But she doesn't. A lot has changed." Naatos smiled. "I've had her for over two days, and she has not left me once. We barely left my bed the first day, and she danced with me this morning at the official ceremony of our presentment. Her kisses are very sweet. And her body? It is perfect to hold. Among other things. She knows you're here, I might add. But she's still in my chambers. She even knows I intend to kill you. If she actually had any feelings for you, don't you think she'd be here trying to stop me?"

  The Ayamin had an old saying. Whoever made the first move in a duel generally lost. Shon kept his gaze focused on Naatos, prepared to shift to either the razor bow or the sword, depending on which one would be most advantageous in the fight. "I know you're lying because Amelia would never love you. You don't deserve her."

  "She is a Neyeb. She can't help it. It has never had anything to do with deserving." Naatos stepped back. The intensity of his gaze had increased, but then, all at once, he vanished.

  Shon gripped his bow tighter. His ears strained for any sound yet there was nothing.

  A snarl sliced the air as a large lizard-like creature with jaws like an angler fish appeared to the right, crouched and ready to attack. It lunged into the air, but in mid-leap it transformed into a silver saber-toothed cat with eight-inch teeth. Shon loosed the arrow and dodged to the side, bringing the razor bow up to his chest.

  The arrow struck Naatos in the shoulder. He landed on the ground, shifting his shoulder back. The flesh and muscles bulged, and then the arrow vanished, trickling down in dust. "You know that doesn't work," Naatos said. His voice sounded strange coming out of the saber cat. His jaws clicked together as he paced the floor.

  "Eventually you'll lose the strength to heal yourself," Shon said, stepping back and fitting another arrow to the smooth part of the wire. Or he would get to the disbursed powder, sweep up a handful, put it on an arrow, and take Naatos down that way.

  "Eventually. But not for quite some time," Naatos said.

  "Fine with me." Shon fired another arrow. This one struck Naatos in the other shoulder as Naatos lunged.

  Shon leaped backward, barely keeping out of Naatos's reach.

  The Vawtrian alternated between forms as easily as many warriors changed weapons. The saber cat form lasted for one swipe before Naatos became a large centipede, clattering around on hundreds of legs. Shon lunged at him, swiping with the razor bow and severing some of the legs.

  The centipede pulled back, arching its back and flipping over. Shon attacked once more, severing another few legs. Naatos scuttled back and transformed again into a twelve-foot crocodile with glowing blue eyes and a stinger tail.

  Shon dodged its attack. He used the razor bow with one hand and unsheathed one of his tomarangs with another. He struck Naatos between the eyes with the hatchet blade. Naatos bellowed again, tearing back and taking the tomarang with him. Shaking his head, Naatos managed to get the tomarang free, but Shon remained relentless in his attack, shooting Naatos in the leg and snatching up one of the fallen arrows. He still had half a dozen arrows left to go as well as three more tomarangs.

  The battle continued. Shon had to keep changing his fighting tactics as Naatos altered his attack patterns, sometimes in midair and sometimes sweeping around on the other side of the room before coming back to attack.

  Shon flung another of the tomarangs and then fired an arrow in another direction. Though the tomarang missed, the arrow found its mark. At that moment, the creature transformed into Naatos.

  "Not bad." Naatos pulled the arrow from his side. "But you're starting to get tiresome, Ayamin." He broke the arrow in half and threw it aside.

  "You can leave any time you choose," Shon said.

  Naatos chuckled. He removed his spear from his belt and shook it out. He turned out the uppermost blade. "I'll need my trophy first."

  Shon unsheathed his sword and put his razor bow back into place. Naatos was between him and the fallen powder.

  Naatos lunged. Shon dodged and slashed down, sidestepping the spear and bringing the battle into close quarters. Naatos changed the blades, but Shon brought his sword up to shear one off. As Naatos adjusted his grip, Shon whipped out another tomarang and struck Naatos in the chest.

  Naatos jerked back. He tore the tomarang free, turning his shoulder to Shon. The wound healed over quickly though his black garments remained wet with his own blood. But Shon did not wait for Naatos to heal. He pressed his attack forward, bringing his sword down on Naatos's hand.

  The spear clattered to the ground, rolling out of Naatos's reach. But instead of going for it, Naatos struck Shon across the back of the head and flung him against the wall.

  The force of the blow broke Shon's nose and left him half-conscious. Naatos grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him against the wall once again.

  57

  Love Lost

  Amelia ran as fast as she could. From the sounds outside, she guessed that the battle was focusing near the Hall of Creation. She'd memorized the path by this point. Her heart raced, and her mind sailed through thousands of possibilities, warning her of what she might find. Reaching the staircase, she gripped the handrail and took them as rapidly as she could. She started to pass a hall when she heard something slam and a man shout in pain.

  She stopped short. A Machat body lay in the hall, a gaping hole in the man's chest. Amelia held the dagger at the ready and checked her gun.

  More blows landed. Something splattered. Amelia froze, recognizing Shon's voice. She ran to the archway and peered in.

  Naatos flung Shon against the floor. Shon's face was bloodied almost beyond recognition. His lips were split and swollen, his nose broken, his eyes black. Bone jutted from his leg, and his armor was torn. Shon saw her at once. She stared at him, gripping the dagger and staring in horror. Naatos had his back to her. "Machat…powder," Shon said with great effort.

  Nothing had prepared Amelia for the sight. She heard the words, but she couldn't comprehend them. The blood and Shon's mangled body filled her vision. Nothing else mattered. Her life. Her so-called marriage. The Tue-Rah. Nothing.

  Shon's chest convulsed and throbbed with each twisted breath, but he lived. He would survive.

  Amelia pulled out her gun, aimed at the back of Naatos's thigh, and squeezed the trigger.

  She snapped into the cold she'd felt when she'd fought the crudon. Her mind was sharp, her thoughts piercing and clear. She strode into the room, the scent of gunpowder surrounding her. Unlike the raw depression without her elmis or the muddled emotional morass with her elmis, the cold spread out her thoughts, separating them out like roots spread into new soil.

  "Shon, stay down and don't move. Focus on breathing and stay awake." Amelia cocked the gun again.

  Naatos groaned and pushed himsel
f back up, turning to face her. As soon as his eyes met hers, his lips pressed into a tight line. "Amelia." He growled her name.

  Amelia pointed the gun at his head. "We've been through this before. I'll put this bullet right between your eyes. I told you to stay away from Shon and from my people, but here you are."

  Naatos closed his eyes, gritting his teeth as the blood dripped down his leg. "You have until I get back on my feet to get back to the family chambers. Otherwise, it will go badly for you."

  "You don't understand me, but I understand you. You won't give up the Tue-Rahs or the worlds for me or anyone. But I won't give up my destiny either. So…here we are. I'll fight you with everything I've got."

  Shon gasped. He lifted a bloody hand and pointed behind her. "Powder." Bloody spittle trailed from his mouth.

  Amelia stepped back, letting her gaze dart toward the back for only a breath. She wasn't going to turn her back on Naatos. Not even for a moment.

  A leather bag lay on the floor near the outer wall, black pottery shards broken about. A small pouch was nearby, several packets crushed open with silver powder scattered across the floor.

  Naatos was already on his feet again. He dried his bloodied hand. "If you stay, you force my hand. The only leniency you will get from me is that I will not kill you."

  Naatos moved to the right. Amelia instinctively compensated for the distance, moving farther from the powder. She cursed at herself. She had to get back around to it. "I guess the right word for this is kuvaste?"

  "Kuvaste."

  Amelia shot him once more in the leg. Naatos nearly dodged it this time so it only grazed his leg, but she followed it up with a second and third shot, taking him down again. She bolted back to Shon. Blood spattered on the floor. Naatos lurched back, staggering and gripping a chair to keep from falling.

  "I am going to take that away from you," Naatos snarled.

  Amelia shot him in the left leg twice.